Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Dedication
- 1
- 2
- A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part I
- 3
- The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part I
- 8
- 9
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part I
- 10
- 11
- 12
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part II
- 13
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part II
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- The Complicated History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Imaginary Relationship with Her Nonexistent Dad
- 20
- 21
- 22
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part III
- 23
- 24
- 25
- A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News
- 26
- 27
- 28
- A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part IV
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part II (Or Maybe It’s a Prequel)
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part III
- 54
- A Note from the Author
- Index of Flowers and their Meanings
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Praise for This Time Will Be Different
- Books by Misa Sugiura
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
Three minutes go by, and Owen doesn’t reply. He’s probably driving. I’m sure he’s the kind of guy who never texts while he drives. Two more minutes, and Owen walks in and sits down next to me.
“Hey, I just got your text. I was driving,” he says, and I give myself a mental high five. “I was going to go for a run, but plotting the revolution over breakfast pastries sounded like more fun.”
Owen gets up to buy some food, but I put my hand on his arm and make him sit down because Emily has just texted. Soon after, she comes in from the kitchen and plunks a plate of muffins on the table. She makes a hot chocolate for herself and a mocha for Owen and joins us in the booth. She looks disheveled and grumpy, but she’s my friend, so she’s here. I feel like my whole body is smiling.
“So. What do you think about a student movement to change the name of the school?” I say as Em sips her hot chocolate and Owen wolfs down a muffin. “That makes the most sense, right? McAllister basically stole the land he donated, so it should be named after the guy who originally owned it. Robert McAllister High School becomes Ryōhei Motohara High School.”
Owen swallows and nods. “Naming it after McAllister is a perfect example of erasing nonwhite history.”
Em points out that McAllister’s name is technically also part of that history. “Not that it should be,” she adds hastily.
“Since when do we name things after racists, though?” I ask.
Owen, of course, has tons of answers: Woodrow Wilson, Andrew Jackson, Peter Stuyvesant. “Leland Stanford was a raging racist.”
“As in Stanford University?!” I can’t believe it.
“Google it.”
After more muffins, more caffeine, and more discussion, we decide to stage a demonstration in the quad and collect signatures to present to the administration.
“We can’t do this alone, though,” I say. “Who can we get to help us?”
“Zach Webster, obviously. His mom’s Japanese and he’s super involved in his temple youth group,” says Owen. “Aviana’s already with us . . . Will and Sam can probably pitch in. How about Mizhir? Or Tulasi?”
Emily and Owen insist on putting Brynn on the list, as well. “She’s vice president of the ASB, Ceej,” says Em for probably the fortieth time this year. “And captain of the girls’ lacrosse team, and president of the QSA. And her mom’s on the city council. It doesn’t matter how you feel about her, or what she’s done in the past. She has tons of experience, and she has access to important people. She has to be on the list.”